Horrible G5 disk problems

macrumors member

I'm a film composer in the middle of a deadline, and my G5 crashes...
won't boot again, only get grey screen with Apple and spinning logo.

Boot from Applecare disk, run tech tool, hardware fine, disk is corrupted. Catalog B-tree stuff. Cannot re-build without destroying data.
Of course I have a clone of my system drive and try to boot from that, but IT is corrupted too of course!

Go to Apple Store (I have ProCare), then run diagnostics and find the same. Advice? Wipe the drive and start from scratch.

I do just that. I own about 35 plug-in instruments for Logic 8, so it took two days. The same thing happens. Disk won't boot.

Talked to Applecare, they suggest buying a new internal HD, which I do.

macrumors 65816

I'm a film composer in the middle of a deadline, and my G5 crashes...
won't boot again, only get grey screen with Apple and spinning logo.

Boot from Applecare disk, run tech tool, hardware fine, disk is corrupted. Catalog B-tree stuff. Cannot re-build without destroying data.
Of course I have a clone of my system drive and try to boot from that, but IT is corrupted too of course!

Go to Apple Store (I have ProCare), then run diagnostics and find the same. Advice? Wipe the drive and start from scratch.

I do just that. I own about 35 plug-in instruments for Logic 8, so it took two days. The same thing happens. Disk won't boot.

Talked to Applecare, they suggest buying a new internal HD, which I do.

The Apple guy had me buy another external drive and install nothing but Tiger fresh on it to use for a master boot drive.
The computer won't even boot from that now.

anyway, I don't know if I'm looking for answers, venting, or sharing a nightmare situation to remind all of you how close we all are to losing valuable time, work and sanity.

Click to expand...

This might sound stupid, but have you checked to see if your CPU fan is still functioning? ( You didn't mention what model G5 you have, so I don't know if you even have one )

This is just some prudent advice, and much of it may be unnecessary, but you might give it a try...

Shut the system down and assuming you have a Powermac G5 and not an iMac or whatehave you, I would take your system to a place with open air or you don't care about getting dirty and blow the whole case out with a can of air. You will probably have a ton of dust, so wear a mask if you feel inclined.
After the whole case is blown out, unplug and replug the harddrive cables on both the motherboard side and drive side.

Try spinning your fan manually with your fingers... does it spin freely, or does it fight against you?

Power the system back up with the side panel off ( but plastic panel in place. ) Do you see the fan turn on briefly?

Your Mac Genius ma have already looked at that...

However, nothing you've said really suggests that the fan is a problem.... seems like your motherboard'd harddrive controller may be failing.
You may also ask the Mac Genius to replace your SATA cables for your harddrive, on the off chance they are poorly constructed and are now failing.

Out of prudence, I would see if anyone has a spare mac you can borrow to finish your project!

thread startermacrumors member

thanks for the tips. I cancelled my ProCare appointment today at the Apple Store in lieu of putting my G5 right up on the bench of Melrose Mac in Hollywood. They deal with creative professionals and do all repairs on-site as opposed to the 3-5 day Apple turnaround.

I'll post here when I find out what happened. I guess the puzzling part is that it passed all the Apple Genius's hardware tests...

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